Polytechnic High School Students Blaze Their Way to MIT

The School in Sun Valley Will Be Graduating Five More Students to MIT

LOS ANGELES (April 4, 2014) – A new wave of engineers from Polytechnic High School is welcome at the elite campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Los Angeles Unified School District proudly announced today that five students from Polytechnic High School’s Math/Science Magnet have been admitted to the prestigious program. In the past three years, 11 Poly students have been accepted at what may be the nation’s premier institution of higher learning for science and technology.

“I am in awe of our MIT 5,” said Ari Bennett, principal of Polytechnic High School. “Each one represents the caliber and high standards of our Math/Science Magnet at Poly. Congratulations to these wizards of technology who will change the world one atom at a time.”

"Congratulations to the students of Polytechnic who have put in the long hours of study, focus, and creativity necessary to obtain entrance into some of the most competitive and prestigious colleges across the country,” said Los Angeles Board of Education Member Mónica Ratliff. The increasing number of Polytechnic students earning admission into America’s top colleges is a testament to Mr. Bennett’s leadership and the staff’s dedication to excellence. Kudos to Polytechnic High School’s Math/Science Magnet for giving students the opportunity to achieve and succeed!"

Andrew Koh - Accepted to MIT, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego. At MIT, he will major in computer science.

Kevin Escobar Rodriguez - Accepted to MIT, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Brown, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego. At MIT, he will major in mechanical engineering or cognitive sciences.

GiMin Choi - Accepted to MIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego. At MIT, he will major in environmental engineering, or computer science or genetics.

William Lopez-Cordero - Accepted to MIT, Cornell, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Pomona and Cal State Fullerton. At MIT, he will major in aerospace engineering.

The five students have studied together for the past four years in the Poly/Math Science Magnet. They will be welcomed by Poly graduates, who already attend MIT, and helped to adjust to new challenges. Some former Poly students return to the school to offer guidance and counsel from their college experience at MIT, and to encourage current students to consider applying to their university.